The Impacts of Groundwater Chemistry on Wetland Vegetation Distribution in the Northern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Abstract

Groundwater chemistry has an important impact on the vegetation distribution in inland areas. An in-depth understanding of the impact of groundwater chemistry on vegetation can help in developing an effective management strategy to protect the inland ecosystem. The aim of this study was to identify the influence of groundwater chemicals on species diversity and the distribution characteristics of wetland plants at multiple scales based on the groundwater chemical data from 15 sampling points and the distribution data of 13 plants in the Sugan Lake Wetland in 2016. The results show that the groundwater of the Sugan Lake Wetland is weakly alkaline, with high salinity and hardness; the water chemical type is Na-SO4-Cl; the concentration of the major water chemical parameters is significantly different and is the highest in the northwest, followed by the southwest, and is the lowest in the east; with an increase in the groundwater depth, the concentration of major water chemical parameters first showed an increasing trend followed by a decreasing trend; Artemisia frigida Willd, Poa annua L. and Triglochin maritimum L. were adapted to the environment with a higher ion concentration of the groundwater, and their salt resistance was the strongest; Blysmus sinocompressus and Polygonum are more adapted to the environment with lower salinity and hardness of groundwater; Thermopsis lanceolata has stronger adaptability to the ion concentration, salinity, and hardness of groundwater; other plants are adapted to environments where the ion concentration, salinity, and hardness of the groundwater are moderate.